Holiday Season Phishing Scams and Malware Campaigns

As the winter holidays approach, US-CERT reminds users to stay aware of seasonal scams and cyber campaigns, which may include:

electronic greeting cards that may contain malware

requests for charitable contributions that may be phishing scams and may originate from illegitimate sources claiming to be charities

screensavers or other forms of media that may contain malware

credit card applications that may be phishing scams or identity theft attempts

online shopping advertisements that may be phishing scams or identity theft attempts from bogus retailers

shipping notifications that may be phishing scams or may contain malware

US-CERT encourages users and administrators to use caution when encountering these types of email messages and take the following preventative measures to protect themselves from phishing scams and malware campaigns: